Flooring expert to help consumers across the nation save money and the planet in honor of Earth Day

DALTON, Ga., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Mohawk Industries, the leader in recycled and renewable flooring, announces its 10 Tips to Green Your Home, helping consumers find ways they can improve energy efficiency, decrease their carbon footprint and save money.

1. Look for home products that contain recycled content - like carpeting made from soda bottles.
2. Use safe, natural and non-toxic cleaners. Your body and wallet will thank you.
3. Ask your power company if they do free energy audits to better understand your energy usage and find ways to improve your efficiency.
4. When choosing hardwoods, look for products containing low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or look at reclaimed wood options.
5. Switch to low-flow toilets and faucets to decrease your water usage.
6. Make the switch to programmable thermostats and motion detection switches for lights. That way, you'll only heat and light your house when you need it.
7. When carpeting a room, remember that the carpet's cushion acts as an insulator. Be sure to choose a good one.
8. Buy into your local Community Supported Agriculture program. These organic, local foods are a green and affordable way to feed your family.
9. When replacement time comes around, consider upgrading to high efficiency windows and appliances as well as compact florescent light bulbs. For an even larger impact, consider an investment in proper insulation. While some of these upgrades may cost a bit more up front, they'll pay back their investment in a few short years and give you continued energy savings for many more years to come.
10. Do your homework. Remember, being green is more than just a fashion statement. If you want to incorporate green practices into your life, know the companies that make the green products you buy. Just because someone says it's green, doesn't always mean that it is. Get the facts. Get it in writing. Also, involve your kids - they probably know more about being green than you do.

"In recent years we've seen more and more people looking for environmentally friendly flooring," said David Duncan, vice president of marketing for Mohawk's Residential Business. "In these rough economic times green practices have really proven their worth. Our tips will help people save money while making green practices an easy, responsible and practical choice. This is exactly what Earth Day is all about."

For years, Mohawk has been actively seeking innovative ways to recycle, reduce, reuse and renew. Through its GreenWorks program, Mohawk has learned that successful energy-saving initiatives and eco-friendly flooring options work for everyone: customers, business, industry, neighbors, immediate environment and the entire planet. Mohawk is always exploring new ideas to make its products and processes more sustainable and reduce its use of natural resources, passing these best practices along to customers in the process.

As a result, Mohawk is the leader in recycled and renewable flooring as well as the largest recycler in the industry by diverting more than three billion pounds of pre- and post-consumer waste from landfills each year. More than 500 Mohawk products currently contain recycled material. From recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into EverStrand carpeting to transforming corn sugar into SmartStrand(R) with DuPont(TM) Sorona(R) carpeting and dismantled buildings into hardwood flooring, Mohawk is always looking for innovative ways to go green. To learn more, visit www.mohawkflooring.com/earth-day.

About Mohawk Industries

Mohawk is a leading supplier of flooring for both residential and commercial applications. Mohawk offers a complete selection of broadloom carpet, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone, vinyl, rugs and other home products. These products are marketed under the premier brands in the industry, which include Mohawk, Karastan, Ralph Lauren, Lees, Bigelow, Columbia, Century, Dal-Tile, American Olean and Quick-Step. Mohawk's unique merchandising and marketing assist our customers in creating the consumers' dream. Mohawk provides a premium level of service with its own trucking fleet and over 250 local distribution locations.

SOURCE Mohawk Industries